Will a Cocktail still taste the same alone in Isolation?
London, my home and a city that normally never sleeps is about to be in lockdown as I write this with bars, pubs and restaurants closed from tomorrow as the government announced today.
So, I decided to have my last drink in public before I have to have it at home in isolation.
I sit by the river Thames with a view over St. Paul’s. While I look through the menu, I ask myself: which flavour do I want to taste last before I live in isolation?
It’s tough, I’m indecisive. I hate having to do this and without sounding dramatic here, I feel I can slightly relate to someone on death row having to choose their last meal.
Tough Decisions lie ahead
Ok, I can do this. I go for something cheerful, full of life, refreshing yet grounding. A cocktail with a strong pineapple flavour, however, not overpowering, not sweet. Well balanced
with gin and topped with lavender foam. I am in love; I feel free looking out to London’s ever-changing but continuously impressive skyline.
In the background I hear legendary Abba singing “there’s not a soul out there, no one to hear my prayer”. The bar is not full on this Friday night, but a few people are enjoying a drink like me. I reminisce on the days where I would enjoy a glass of wine on a Canary Wharf rooftop bar while writing blog articles under the sun. The uncertainty of when I will be able to work outside my home again while freely choosing where to work from gives me an eerie sensation.
I take a sip and realize that the intensity of the flavours and notes in my cocktail, the colour, the shimmering foam – they would not feel the same in isolation. The surroundings of where I have my drink, the atmosphere, the view, they all add to my sensory experience.
Working from Home during Isolation
I see an empty boat passing and I wonder how I will make it through this isolation period. Thankfully, I have so many pleasurable experiences to go back to, so many amazing people I can have a drink with in virtual meetings. And I have my main work tool with me all the time so that I can write, communicate and record everything I do – my laptop & smartphone.
For now, I will have to work from home. No matter how much I love to travel and work from different places, I know this is the time to put my head down and work hard. Because 
there certainly will come a time where I can live the laptop lifestyle again and when it comes, I want to be ready for it.
And for the cocktail, I’m confident it will taste so much better once I can truly appreciate it again. Alone or with someone somewhere again.
Blogger and Educator by Passion | Senior Online Media & PR Strategist at ClickDo Ltd. | Contributor to many Education, Business & Lifestyle Blogs in the United Kingdom & Germany | Summer Course Student at the London School of Journalism and Course Instructor at the SeekaHost University.